1. Field of the Invention
The field of the present invention is high strength amorphous aluminum-based alloys and processes for producing an amorphous aluminum-based alloy structural member using the same.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are numerous known amorphous-aluminum-based alloys comprising various transition elements added to Al.
However, the conventional amorphous aluminum-based alloys suffer from a problem that the amorphous phase forming ability in production thereof is relatively lower. Another problem associated with such conventional alloys is that in producing a member using such alloys, the workability thereof is inferior, because a plastically workable temperature region between the glass transition temperature (Tg) and the crystallization temperature (Tx) is relatively narrow.
There is also a conventionally known process for producing a structural member of an amorphous aluminum-based alloy, which comprises forming a green compact from an amorphous aluminum-based alloy powder having an amorphous phase volume fraction (Vf) of 50% or more and subjecting the green compact to a hot plastic working. In this producing process, the density of the green compact is set relatively low.
When the density of the green compact is relatively low, however, the following problem is encountered: In a hot plastic working, e.g., in a hot extrusion, a relatively large slip may occur between the alloy powder particles forming the green compact, thereby causing the temperature of the alloy powder to be increase due to the attendant friction and deformation, with the result that the crystallization advances to provide a reduction in volume fraction the amorphous phase in the resulting structural member.